If you've never had a fantasy basketball team, here's how it works, at least in my league: you select 13 NBA players. Then, as the year progresses, your team's total stats are measured up against every other team in your league, and the team with the best average ranking in nine different categories (points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, 3-pointers, turnovers, free-throw %, and field-goal %) wins. It's epic.
Deerhoof - Basketball Get Your Groove Back
Last year was my second year playing in a fantasy basketball league, as I managed two teams over at Yahoo! Sports. It was a year of steep, steep learning for me, as I developed my skills in waiver pickups and learning to properly read the stat sheet. Last year, one of my teams even finished second, although I got a massive boost from a disgruntled manager who quit halfway through the season and traded me Lebron, Ray Allen, and J-Rich for scraps. That I still lost the league speaks wonders about my ineptness, I think. This year, I'm a dedicated fantasy basketball manager with aspirations of winning it all. I even decided, for the first year, to take part in live drafts, which means you're obligated to be in front of your computer at a certain time in order to pick. I chose very early times, because it meant it wouldn't interfere with work if it took a long time, and woke up this morning to select the players for my first team. I thought, since this is, among other things, a personal blog, I should share the frustrations of my fantasy basketball teams, The Demon Snacks and The Chunky Tumblers, with my loyal sports readership (Thomas Cairns). Today I take you through the draft.
Round 1: Kobe Bryant
Kobe's an obvious first-round guy. An easy choice.
Round 2: David West
Having established a guaranteed point-getter from the perimeter, I wanted an inside guy with good percentages and the ability to give me a double-double. West was available, and I wagered that he's going to improve from last season, as the entire Hornets squad will. I wanted Al Jefferson or Chris Bosh, but he went earlier than I thought they might. I'm a little unsure about this pick, because, upon further inspection, West's rebounding numbers are not where I thought they were.
Round 3: Josh Smith
An absolute fleecing. Smith is one of the most underrated fantasy performers in the game because he plays in crummy old Atlanta. But the guy produces in every fantasy category. In a number of leagues, Smith is a second round pick and West a third-round pick, so I feel like I redeemed myself even if West doesn't put up second-round-quality numbers.
Round 4: Chris Kaman
Still concerned about guaranteed rebounding after picking up two good rebounders, I chose to go with Chris Kaman, who proved to me last year that he's a reliable starting centre (he was on the winning team and I desperately wished he was on mine), because he gets boards and doesn't suck at free-throw shooting. Now, I felt confident about my boards. It was time to get a pass-first point guard.
Round 5: Andrej Kirilenko
What the heck was I thinking? Devin Harris was available, as was T.J. Ford, and somehow, I wigged out and picked another big? I should have taken either of them for the guaranteed seven assists a night, but I didn't because I was somehow enamored by Kirilenko's blocks. I justified it, saying Ford will be available in round 6.
Round 6: Tony Parker
He wasn't. Ford was drafted one spot early, and I pulled out a good chunk of my hair, settling for Tony Parker. Parker's a driving PG, not the pass-first one I wanted. Still, he's consistent enough. He'll be a passable starting PG, but he should have been my backup. Now I have to hope this year gives us the unselfish Kobe Bryant and not the one who drops 81 points and 2 assists, otherwise I won't have enough guaranteed assists to keep up.
Round 7: Tracy McGrady
I think T-Mac's a grade-A tool, and the fact that he always looks stoned keeps me concerned he'll wind up suspended for violating the league's drug policy. Still, he's a stud, and when he plays bad defensive teams, he tears them apart for big points. I was surprised he was still available here, until I saw after making the pick that he was injured. If he gets healthy for opening night, however, I'll look like a genius for getting him so late, right? Right? Anybody?
Round 8: Al Harrington
Another pick I'm not happy with. I wanted another starting center, and wound up picking Harrington because he's one of only a few center-eligible players you can also count on for threes. When he plays, Harrington's a viable fantasy option, but the problem I have is that this idiot comes off the bench a lot of nights, and is thus not consistent. I guess the good thing is my two starting centres have good free throw percentages.
Round 9: O.J. Mayo
I had wanted to take a PG-eligible rookie in the later rounds and was hoping for Derrick Rose, but he went late in round 7. I justified this pick because I'm confident Mayo will contribute. Memphis is young, and Mayo will probably be their go-to-scorer, if he can learn to drive into the paint. It's entirely possible that he becomes a total fantasy stud for me, but it's also possible he busts, giving me a bad FG percentage and a lot of turnovers, or worse, winds up on the bench for somebody who sucks, like Antoine Walker. But Mayo's been ranked pretty high on pre-draft fantasy rankings--higher than where I drafted him--so I feel like this was a good pick.
Round 10: Manu Ginobili
When I realized Manu wasn't picked yet, I drafted him immediately. He makes my percentages skyrocket, he gets points, dimes, rebounds, and helpers. He's a great all-around fantasy player, like a lesser Josh Smith. Why wasn't he taken much, much earlier? I just assumed he was. Well, it's because he's out until December. Crap. However, this suddenly makes Tony Parker that much more valuable, and it also means that, if Manu comes back totally healthy, I'll have one of the best backcourts in my league. Parker, Manu, and Kobe? I suddenly feel much, much better about my assists. Let's just hope I'm not totally out of it by mid-December.
Round 11: Drew Gooden
I hate Drew Gooden. I didn't want to pick him, but my only other option for another big man to round my bigs was Marc Gasol, and I wasn't comfortable with two rookie Grizzlies in my lineup. Two Grizzlies at all is a recipe for disaster.
Round 12: Luis Scola
Originally, this pick was Yi Jianlian, but then I remembered the rule I learned last year: don't pick second-year bigs who showed no signs, near the end of their rookie season, that they were going to be any better. Last year, an early Andrea Bargnani gamble cost me the season. This year, I didn't want to wind up hating the Chinese when I found myself second-last, so I ditched Yi for Scola immediately after the draft when I realized the Argentinian had somehow slipped down this far.
Round 13: Chris Quinn
Originally, this pick was Kyle Korver, but that's when I realized Korver's only good for three-pointers, and when he has his off-nights (which happen often) he kills your FG-percentage. So I ditched him to take a chance that Quinn wins the starting job in Miami over rookie Mario Chalmers. If he does, he'll be dishing to Marion, Beasley, and Wade all night, so he could provide me the assists I blew when I didn't pick T.J. Ford.
Complete Demon Snacks Lineup
- PG - Tony Parker
- SG - Kobe Bryant
- G - Tracy McGrady
- SF - Josh Smith
- PF - David West
- F - Andrej Kirilenko
- C - Chris Kaman
- C - Al Harrington
- Util - O.J. Mayo
- Util - Luis Scola
- BN - Drew Gooden
- BN - Manu Ginobili (injured)
- BN - Chris Quinn
I feel like I have a well-rounded team that, while it may not run away with any categories, won't be at the bottom of anything either. Last year, I lost because my free-throw percentage and turnovers were in the toilet, even though everything else was near tops in the league. I'm hoping the Demon Snacks will win with high averages and good percentages.
Tomorrow, I draft for The Chunky Tumblers and will try to rectify some of the perceived mistakes of today. I'll keep you posted on how things go. Wish me luck.